NFL Union Official Gene Upshaw Dies

Gene Upshaw, the Pro Football Hall of Fame guard who became the NFL Players Association executive director, has died at 63.

Upshaw’s death, apparently due to pancreatic cancer, was announced Thursday by Jeffrey Kessler, a lawyer who has represented the NFLPA in labor negotiations. The NFLPA Web site carried the announcement of Upshaw’s death, saying he’d only recently learned he had cancer.

Kessler said Upshaw was not diagnosed until Sunday night “and he didn’t tell anybody.”

Upshaw is survived by his wife, Terri, and sons, Justin, Daniel and Eugene Jr.

Upshaw played 16 seasons for the Oakland Raiders. He was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection, a five-time all-pro and played on two Super Bowl champions. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.